Egypt's Copts pick new pope

Monday

Nov 5, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 5, 2012 at 11:18 AM

CAIRO - Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian Church named a new pope yesterday to spiritually guide the community through a time when many fear for their future with the rise of Islamists to power and deteriorating security after last year's uprising.

CAIRO — Egypt’s ancient Coptic Christian Church named a new pope yesterday to spiritually guide the community through a time when many fear for their future with the rise of Islamists to power and deteriorating security after last year’s uprising.

The death earlier this year of Pope Shenouda III, a familiar figure who led the church for 40 years, heightened the sense of insecurity felt by many Egyptian Christians. They will now look to Bishop Tawadros, who will be ordained on Nov. 18 as Pope Tawadros II, to fill the void in leadership.

Tawadros, 60, was chosen in an elaborate Mass where a blindfolded boy drew the name of the next patriarch from a crystal chalice.

President Mohammed Morsi of the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, who was elected in Egypt’s first free presidential race, has named a number of Christians as advisers and vowed to work closely with the community. But Christians are skeptical.

Morsi congratulated Tawadros and spoke of Egyptian “unity” and “brotherly love” between Copts and Muslims.

Copts, estimated at 10?percent of the country’s 83?million people, have long complained of discrimination by the Muslim majority state. Under both the old regime and the new Islamist leadership, violent clashes with Muslims have occasionally broken out, often sparked by church construction, land disputes or Muslim-Christian love affairs.

The newfound political power of Islamists in Egypt, who also won parliamentary elections, has left many Christians feeling deeply uncomfortable.

Copts have faced sporadic, violent attacks by Muslim extremists. That has been compounded by deterioration in security and law enforcement since the uprising. In some cases, Coptic families or entire communities have had to flee their towns as a quick-fix solution to avoid more violence.